Giving Sizani a needed lift

Local businesses have come to the rescue of Sizani Primary School in Foxhill which has been in dire need of an assembly area and school hall since its opening in 1930.
Last week Lifestyle’s BBS Mica’s Angie Baldwin handed over a voucher for R15000 to Sizani Primary to purchase building material at their store.
Initially the voucher was going to be used on paints to help address the problem of the school’s peeling walls, but school principal Ntombenhle July said there was an urgent need for a sheltered assembly area.
“We are going to use the voucher to buy sand, stones and bricks and build a slab which will eventually become a school hall,” said July.
She said the donation came at the right time and thanked BBS Mica for showing an interest in Sizani. July said the school was operating on a non-existent budget because most parents failed to pay the minimum of R100 per year school fees.
“We are really at a disadvantage because we are ranked as a quintile four school like schools in high income areas but the community we serve is really poor,” said July.
Quintile four is for fee paying schools and gets less government subsidy than no-fee schools like the ones usually found in townships and rural areas.
A local non profit organisation, Ballito Helping Hands (BHH) is also trying to get donations for the school to help with things such as the shortage of chairs, an overflowing sceptic tank and repairing leaking roofs.
BHH’s founder Daisy Sapia told the Courier that local construction company Masbuild has agreed to provide labour for building the school’s assembly area.
They will be using building material bought with the Mica voucher and some that had been previously donated by Siza Water.
“We are also appealing for help with paint for the classrooms as well for people with painting skills, to please come forward,” said Sapia.
She said their immediate concern was the shortage of chairs in the school and she was in talks with a promising sponsor.
“We are a long way from getting Sizani to the level of other quintile four schools but it is up to all of us to donate funds, material and even our time to help the teachers so that they can help the pupils,” said Sapia.
For more information visit the Ballito Helping Hands Facebook page or contact the school on 032-5255190 or Angie Baldwin on 032-9463104.